Planning Ahead and Looking Back: Reflections on GiveMN’s Planned Giving Cohort

As the new year approaches, many of us are thinking about the future. You might be writing up a list of resolutions or planning your next vacation. Looking to the new year can be exciting but also intimidating. What if I don’t meet my goals? How will I feel if I never get to go on that trip, learn that language, or connect with my community? 

For many nonprofits, planning ahead can stir up similar mixed feelings. While an organization might feel inspired by the future of its community and mission, thinking about the long-term financial picture can be difficult. Alarmingly, 79% of Minnesota nonprofits surveyed in MCN’s September 2024 report reported less than 12 months before they experienced financial distress. But, just as when you make concrete plans to buy your next plane ticket, when nonprofits establish planned gifts, which are any major gifts made as part of a donor’s financial and/or estate planning, the future feels more secure. 

That’s why, over the past four months, GiveMN’s coaching team, in partnership with the Patrick and Aimee Butler Family Foundation, led a Planned Giving cohort to build knowledge around this important fundraising tool.

Over the course of four monthly coaching sessions, GiveMN’s coaching team worked with 19 organizations representing a variety of missions and communities. Forty percent of participating organizations had budgets of under $500,000, 30 percent identified as BIPOC-led and/or serving, 10 percent identified as LGBTQ+ serving, and 5 percent identified as Greater Minnesota serving.

Sessions covered the basics of planned giving, such as prospecting, sector trends, planned giving expectations, how to create a right-sized communications plan and build relationships with current and potential donors, and how to ask for and steward planned gifts. And, the cohort set-up also gave organizations a chance to bond over shared questions, challenges, and successes. 

When organizations have the time and resources to build their planned giving toolkits and connect with fellow fundraisers, they see powerful and long-lasting effects. One cohort member, Julie Edmiston, the Senior Development Officer of Wilderness Inquiry, shared that: "In addition to providing tangible resources, the cohort increased my confidence to move forward with planned giving conversations by sharing insights about how to approach current and potential donors.” Using this increased confidence and resources, Wilderness Inquiry also secured a commitment for a planned gift!

As the impact of planned gifts grows – planned giving now represents 9% of charitable giving contributions, up from 7% in previous years –  so too does the value of investing in this fundraising tool. GiveMN is grateful to the Butler Family Foundation for supporting this capacity and knowledge-building work, and we look forward to seeing the success of this cohort at our cohort reunion in October 2025!